California Ballot Propositions and Initiatives. Follow this and additional works at:

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "California Ballot Propositions and Initiatives. Follow this and additional works at:"

Madeleine Barrett
5 years ago
Views:

1 University of California, Hastings College of the Law UC Hastings Scholarship Repository Propositions California Ballot Propositions and Initiatives 1982 PRESIDENT OF SENATE. Follow this and additional works at: Recommended Citation PRESIDENT OF SENATE. California Proposition 2 (1982). This Proposition is brought to you for free and open access by the California Ballot Propositions and Initiatives at UC Hastings Scholarship Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Propositions by an authorized administrator of UC Hastings Scholarship Repository. For more information, please contact marcusc@uchastings.edu.

2 m President of Senate Official Title and Summary Prepared by the Attorney General PRESIDENT OF SENATE. LEGISLATIVE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT. Repeals constituti0nal provision that Lieutenant Governor is President of Senate. Summary of Legislative Analyst's estimate of net state and local government fiscal impact: No direct state or local fiscal impact. FINAL VOTE CAST BY THE LEGISLATURE ON SCA 33 (PROPOSmON 2) Assembly-Ayes, 56 Senate-Ayes, 27 Noes,23 Noes, 12 Background: The California Constitution assigns several responsibilities to the Lieutenant Governor, one of which is serving as President of the Senate with the power to cast the deciding vote in case of a tie. In practice, however, the President pro Tempore, an elected Senator chosen by a majority of the Senators, usually presides when the Senate meets. Proposal: This amendment would delete from the Constitution the provision designating the Lieutenant Governor as President of the Senate and giving him the power to cast a vote in case of a tie. If the amendment is ap- Analysis by the Legislative Analyst proved, the Lieutenant Governor would no longer have the authority to preside over Lt,.e Senate or to resolve tie votes. These matters would be governed instead by other sections of the Constitution, which provide that: (1) the Senate may choose its officers and adopt rules for its proceedings; and (2) no bill may be passed unless a majority of the membership in each house votes in favor of it. (Therefore, a tie vote would automatically defeat a measure being considered.) Fiscal Effect: This measure has no direct state or local fiscal impact. 8

3 Text of Proposed Law This amendment proposed by Senate Constitutional Amendment 33 (Statutes of 1980, Resolution Chapter 94) expressly amends the Constitution by amending a section thereof; therefore, existing provisions proposed to be deleted are printed in srieeht ~. PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO ARTICLE V SEC. 9. The Lieutenant Governor shall have the same qualifications as the Governor. ~ LdeHteftlHit GeT/effiep is PpesiEle!it ehae 8eflt>-te 9Ht fttl5 ~ ft e8fjfj iflg Yete: ',.,' 9

[2] President of Senate Argument in Favor of Proposition 2 Our Lieutenant Governor becomes Governor every time our Governor leaves California for any reason, according to a recent Supreme Court

4 [2] President of Senate Argument in Favor of Proposition 2 Our Lieutenant Governor becomes Governor every time our Governor leaves California for any reason, according to a recent Supreme Court ruling. Yet the Lieutenant Governor also is "President of the Senate," supposedly the head of one house of out Legislature. How can one person be both Governor (head of one branch of government) and "President of the Senate" (head of one house of a separate branch)? Doesn't this violate a basic principle of American governmentseparation of powers between the executive and lawmaking branches? America's founding fathers wouldn't have stood for it. They wanted some people to make laws and a different group of people to carry them out, so no one would have too much power. That's why the Vice President's role is so different from the Lieutenant Governor's role. A Vice President rarely becomes President. Vice President Bush did not become President when President Reagan visited Canada, or even when he was shot. And when a Vice President does become President, the Vice President is President for the rest of the former President's term, and the Vice President is no longer the presiding officer of the Senate. When President Nixon resigned, Vice President Ford became President for three years and appointed a new Vice President. But a California Lieutenant Governor becomes Governor whenever the Governor is away. The Lieutenant Governor is Governor only until the Govern.or returns, and the Lieutenant Governor remains "President of the Senate. "In fact, a Lieutenant Governor under current law could sign into law, or veto, a bill that he or she voted on in the Legislature. Proposition 2 would change this by repealing the part of the State Constitution that names the Lieutenant Governor "President of the Senate." It would recognize the Lieutenant Governor as an executive-branch officer, ready at all times to move up to the office of Governor with or without notice. ~ Proposition 2 also would allow the voters to hold their State Senators more accountable, because it would be clear that Senators alone are responsible fnr tht3 Sen ate's actions. The Senate would select its OWll lead~rin name as in reality. When schoolchildren study California government, they read in the Comtitution that the Lieutenant Governor is "President of the Senate." But that's not tru2 in reality. The real head of the Senate is a Senator, selected by the Senate itself. And when voters elect the Lieutenant Governor, some of them think they also are electing the presiding officer of the Senate, with a tie-breaking vote. But that's not true in reality, either. Consistent with recent tradition, the current Lieutenant Governor does not preside, and no Lieutenant Governor has cast a tie-breaking vote since Proposition 2 was passed by two-thirds majorities of both the State Senate and Assembly, with both Republicans and Democrats voting "yes." It deserves your "yes" vote, too. BARRY KEENE State Senator, 2nd ljismct Rebuttal to Argument in Favor of Proposition 2 The proponents of tl"'is proposition entirely misstate the role of the Lieutenant Governor. The California Constitution is modeled after the United States Constitution in that the Lieutenant Go\-ernor of California, like the Vice President of the United States, is President of the Senate. There is no conflict between this duty and the Lieutenant Governor's authority to act as Governor when th~ Governor is absent from the state. Supporters of Proposition 2 claim it is possible for the Lieutenant Governor to signor veto a bill which he or she voted on in the Legislature. While remotely possible, it is hardly probable. In fact, in California's 133-year history it has never happened. Even during the past 3~ years, with the Governor absent from the state more than 255 days, the issue never arose. Proposition 2 will NOT make Senators more accountable. If anything, it will give them greater opportunities to avoid tough issues. For instance, in September 1979, the Lieutenant Gc-vernor was called upon to break a tie on an amendment to a bill that made it easier for criminals to make bail (6 Senators had abstained). His tie-breaking vote forced some of those Senators to commit themselves on that important issue. You can understand why Senators don't want the Lieuteaant Governor around. We need our Lieutenant Governor as President of the Senate with that tie-breaking votf'. VOTE "NO" ON PROPOSITIO~ 2! H. L. RICHARDSON State Senator, 25th District CAROL HALLETT Member of the Assembl", 29th District 10 Arguments printed on this page are the opinion" :~f the authors and have not been checked for accuracy by any official agency

5 President of Senate [ 2 ) Since its original adoption in 1849, the California Constitutiori has provided th<lt the Lieutenant Governor shall be the President of the Senate with the right to vote in the event of a tie. Now we are asked to repeal this provision and by so doing eliminate the only constitutional duty of the LieutenantGovernor. No compelling reasons exist for making this change. By providing that the Lieutenant Governor is the President of the Senate, California is among the vast majority of states that have chosen to model their Constitution after that of the federal government. Argument Against Proposition 2 The duties of the Lieutenant Governor are modeled after those of the Vice President of the United States. Our Lieutenant Governor, however, is elected separately from the Governor. Presiding over the State Senate is an important function of this independently elected official. The office should not be stripped of this responsibility. Vote NO on Proposition 2. H. L RICHARDSON State Senator. 25th District CAROL HALLETT Member of the Assembly, 29th District Lieutenant Governor Mike Curb and former Lieutenant Governor Ed Reinecke (both Republicans), like former Lieutenant Governor Mervyn Dymally (a Democrat), have spelled out the valid reasons to vote for Proposition 2. In a letter of support written a few days before the Senate passec: the proposition, Lieutenant Governor Curb wrote: "I feel that the current constitutional arrangementwhereby the Lieutenant Governor may preside over the Senate and vote upon legislation that might later be placed before him as Acting Governor for signature or veto-is a clear violation of the traditional separation of the legislative and executive branches of state government." Lieutenant Gov3rnor Curb went on to note that the recent State Supreme Court ruling makes this the right Rebuttal to Argument Against Proposition 2 time to pass this proposition. He v. rote: "Inasmuch as the Supreme Court ruled... that the Lieutenant Governor assumes all responsibilities of the governorship during the Governor's absence from the state, I feel it is time to make a clear distinction between the legislative and executive branches. I therefore support your proposed constitutional amendment." Former Lieutenant Governor Reinecke also wrote letters of support when this proposition was before the Legislature. He said: "I feel that the Lieutenant Governor's office should be in the executive, not the legislative, branch. No one can do justice to both... " Vote YES on Proposition 2. BARRY KEENE State Senator, 2nd District Arguments printed un this page are the opinions of the authors and have not beer. checked for accuracy by any official agency 11

Budget Implementation.

University of California, Hastings College of the Law UC Hastings Scholarship Repository Propositions California Ballot Propositions and Initiatives 1993 Budget Implementation. Follow this and additional